UAE’s Rashid rover, Arab region’s first moon mission, sets landing date target

The UAE’s lunar rover is scheduled to land on the moon at 8:40 pm (GMT+4) on April 25, the Gulf state space agency announced on Wednesday.

Rashid rover built by UAE team Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC), which has spent more than four months in space since its launch in December 2022.

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The rover is being driven by HAKUTO-R Mission 1 Lunar LanderIt will perform multiple orbit-control maneuvers an hour before initiating the landing sequence to reach a 100-kilometer circular orbit around the moon, the state-run WAM news agency reported.

“During touchdown, the lander will perform a brake burn, activating its main propulsion system to decelerate from orbit. Using a series of preset commands, the lander will adjust altitude and reduce speed for a soft landing in the confirmed cold sea. Terras crater location,” the report said.

It currently orbits the Moon at an altitude of about 100 km at periapsis (periapsis—the closest point on the orbit to the center of the Moon) and at an altitude of about 2,300 kilometers at apoclisis—the furthest point in orbit orbiting the Moon to the center), according to the same report.

Alternate landing opportunities are scheduled for April 26, May 1 and May 3.

The rover was sent to space in 2018 from the Cape Canaveral space station in Florida SpaceXFalcon 9 rocket.

Before landing, the team will conduct 12 simulation exercises at the ground station.

On the lunar surface, the rovers will conduct scientific tests that are expected to lead to qualitative developments in the fields of science, communications technology and robotics.

this main objective of the task is to study the lunar plasma and provide answers about lunar dust, the lunar surface, lunar surface fluidity, and how different surfaces interact with lunar particles.

Once on the lunar surface, the 10-kilogram probe will also send back images and collect data on lunar soil and dust.

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